Nadca 13 ductales novdec web by NADCA

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R EDITOR PUBLISHER

2 0 1 3

Sarah Black Jodi Araujo, CEM

POSTMASTER: 15000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C, Mount Laurel, NJ, 08054; Phone: 855-GO-NADCA; Fax: 856-439-0525; E-mail: info@nadca.com; Website: www.nadca.com

Cover Story: Get Project Estimating Right, Page 19

DucTales Magazine is published six times annually. NADCA annual dues include a paid subscription to DucTales. Yearly subscriptions to DucTales are available for $50.

Also in this Issue: Long-Term Selling, Page 27

The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) prints DucTales Magazine to provide its members and the HVAC system cleaning industry with a forum for the discussion of topics of interest. To that end, NADCA tries to include within DucTales a wide range of ideas and opinions. The ideas and opinions expressed by the authors who write articles for DucTales, however, are solely the views of the person expressing them, and do not necessarily represent the views, positions or policies of NADCA, its members, or its officers, directors or staff. NADCA is not responsible for claims made in advertisements. NADCA does not endorse any particular manufacturer or supplier of equipment, chemicals or related products, nor any particular model of equipment.

14 Fall Tech Conference Wrap Up

Using Blogging to Brand Your Business

F E A T U R E S 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NADCA 2013 Safety Awards 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Another Success: Fall Tech Conference Wrap-Up 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get Project Estimating Right 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Superior Measure of Cleanliness 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Long-Term Selling 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Blogging to Brand Your Business

ECO BOX DucTales magazine text and cover pages are printed on SFICertified Anthem Gloss paper using soy ink.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program promotes sustainable forest management. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soils, and water. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program promotes responsible forest management.

2013–2014 NADCA OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS NADCA OFFICERS

D E P A R T M E N T S

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President’s Message 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executive Director’s Message 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Spotlight: RCS Air Duct Cleaning 26 . . . . . . Associate Member spotlight: Doug Groen Consulting, LLC 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New NADCA Members 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New ASCSs 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Committee Spotlight 38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Industry Calendar

President Bill Benito, ASCS (’15) Connecticut Steam Cleaning Inc. P.O. Box 354 440 John Fitch Boulevard South Windsor, CT 06074 (860) 289-5100 FAX: (860) 528-5556 BillBenito@aol.com

Secretary Mike White, ASCS (’14) Clean Air Systems of LA, Inc. P.O. Box 6210 225 Mount Zion Road Shreveport, LA 71136 (318) 869-0344 FAX: (318) 869-0346 mike.white@cleanairsystemsiaq.com

1st Vice President Rick MacDonald, ASCS (’15) Armstrong Heating & Power Vac Inc. 720 East Industrial Park Drive, #9 Manchester, NH 03109 (603) 627-7016 FAX: (603) 627-7070 rmac@ahpv.com

Treasurer Richard Lantz, ASCS (’15) Air Duct Cleaners of Virginia Suite D 913 Business Park Dr. Chesapeake, VA 23320 (757) 366-5237 r.lantz@airductcleanersva.com

2nd Vice President Michael Vinick, ASCS (’14) Duct & Vent Cleaning of America Inc.

311 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 (413) 734-8368 FAX: (413) 733-1997 mvinick@ductandvent.com

NADCA DIRECTORS John Lee, ASCS (‘14) Penn Air Control, Inc. 5941 Lakeshore Drive Cypress, CA 90630 (714) 220-9091 johnlee@pennairgroup.com Dan Stradford, ASCS (‘15) Action Duct Cleaning 787 W. Woodbury Suite 2 Altadena, CA 91001 dstradford@aol.com Jimmy Meyer, ASCS (‘16) Meyer Machine & Equipment 351 Main Street Antioch, IL (847) 395-2970 jimbob@meyermachine.com

Carlos Gonzales-Boothby, ASCS (‘16) Indoor Environmental Consultants PO Box 191648 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919-1648 (787) 568-8880 carlos@iec-pr.com Immediate Past President Matt Mongiello, ASCS Interior Maintenance Company 45 Scottdale Road Lansdowne, PA 19050 (610) 626-1300 matt@imc.cc

NADCA Headquarters 15000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 Toll Free: 855-GO-NADCA Phone: 856-380-6810 Fax: 856-439-0525 www.nadca.com

NADCA STAFF Jodi Araujo, CEM Executive Director Kristy Cohen Assistant Executive Director

Elizabeth Cooke Membership & Certification Coordinator Robin Geary Senior Meeting Manager

P R E S I D E N T ’ S

M E S S A G E

was talking to a past President the other day when the discussion turned to annual meetings and what we had learned from them. We agreed that some of the best takeaways happened when members shared their tricks, techniques, Bill Benito, ASCS successes and good business NADCA President practices. Later that day, my accountant came in and started our threequarter-year review and year-end estimates. His first statement was, “Well it looks like you’re going to be up again for the fourth straight year.” I have been hearing from members all over the country for years that they were either down or hoping to break even because of the past and present economic conditions. I realized that it wasn’t luck that we were growing in a bad economy and it was due to some things we decided to do in 2009 when we had been experiencing the worst depression since the Great Depression. I read an article that outlined 10 ways to increase your business by 10 percent, and it started with your present customer base. It noted that you’ll lose 10 percent of your customers each year–they may go out of business, go to another service provider, your contact will have retired or they just don’t need you again. That means if you do nothing, your business will shrink 10 percent each year. That’s why you need to increase your customer base by 20 percent every year to get 10 percent growth.

Lesson 1: If you think you’re on the right track and just stand there, you’re going to get run over by a train! We printed our complete customers list. As we read down the list we kept saying, “We haven’t done anything for this customer in three (four, five, etc.) years?” Or “I don’t even remember the last time we did work for this customer.” Even with all the communication tools like social media, faxes, direct mail and email, we had lost the personal contact with a lot of customers. We noted which staff had a relationship with each customer and set about contacting them by phone and followed up with email. Within 30 days, we had booked many appointments and two good sized jobs. This was done without one penny in additional advertising (we

have actually downsized our Yellow Page and direct mail efforts). Over the next six to 12 months we were booked out 30 days. This was something we hadn’t seen for a while.

Lesson 2: You can’t go broke taking a profit, but you can if you’re giving it away. Next, we increased our prices. Let me say that again: We increased our prices! We reviewed our pricing structure and discovered that we had cut prices so much that we were not able to give the same kind of customer service that had been a large part of our continuing success since 1982. Increasing your price by ensuring your customers get more value can often be the quickest way to generate more revenue. Remember that every 10 percent increase in price contributes more than the same 10 percent increase in sales without all of the effort. For instance, if your profit margin is 20 percent, then every 10 percent increase in your price is equal to five times that increase in new sales. You might be surprised that your customers are either not as sensitive to price as you think or would appreciate the added value you will give them for only a small increase in price. DucTales • November/December 2013

P R E S I D E N T ’ S

M E S S A G E

“We stopped trying to take every job that came in.” Lesson 3: If you try to be everything to everybody, you’ll be nothing to anyone. The third thing we did was to become more competitive. What? I just said increase your prices, now I say be more competitive? You can be more competitive by keeping on top of increases in your materials and labor costs. We started with renegotiating with our suppliers. We changed how and from whom we bought gas, getting a 2 percent discount if we paid within 19 days. We negotiated with a supplier to bring in pallets of plastic that he would stock. We would pull from the pile each week and get billed a flat rate weekly for 12 weeks. We negotiated with so many of our suppliers that our materials cost went down almost 15 percent. We removed unproductive people. A no show/no call employee can be found anywhere. Just walk down the street and ask someone not to show up at your work for a job you schedule. You will get the same results without ever having to pay unemployment. Two no shows/no call and you were terminated. We stopped trying to take every job that came in. Over the years we tried to take every phone call and say, “Yes we can clean that,” not knowing how long it would take or what issues there might be. This led to lots of small jobs with very low (if any) gross profit. We decided to have a flat service call price and an increased hourly rate onsite that billed in half-hour increments. Pricing was stated up front in the phone call and if was too much for the potential customer, we said, “Thanks for the call,” and moved on. All these things helped lower our costs, which meant more profit that we reinvested in growth strategies or used to offer something more competitive to our customers. We have increased our customer base each year along with our gross revenue and gross profit. Last week when I reviewed accounts receivables I saw numbers that were higher than my gross income back in the early 1990s. Now, if I could just find a lesson on how to get paid in 30 days or less! I wish everyone a happy holiday season and a successful New Year.

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Training and Education

Made Easy! Custom training is now available to NADCA members! Instead of flying your entire staff somewhere to receive training, NADCA will bring the training to YOU!

Interested? Call NADCA Headquarters at (855) GO-NADCA to learn more.

E X E C U T I V E

D I R E C T O R ’ S

M E S S A G E

“The secret of success is consistency of purpose.” — Benjamin Disraeli NADCA’s commitment to a more transparent and progressively sustainable future remains steadfast. The board has redefined expectations and set lofty goals as we move in to 2014. Membership retention is high, growth remains steady and we have built a team that is working to increase awareness of NADCA, of our Standards and of the importance of working with NADCA members and certified technicians. To reach our potential we need to operate differently, making sustainability integral to our innovation and Jodi Araujo, CEM delivery of products and services. What differentiates Executive Director NADCA from other HVAC industry related associations? What is our strategic advantage and how can we make membership and participation in our association and our events a consistent choice for our industry? Your board and staff have been working to define those parameters and set a direction for the association. Achieving our long-term goals will require that we hold ourselves accountable for real and short-term progress. Our expectations are being redefined and we need to recognize sustainability as a driver of growth.

“Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.” — Tony Robbins In the New Year you will see NADCA roll out a number of new initiatives and member benefits that will bring cost savings and more efficient practices to your business. You will see us continue to increase our educational offerings, provide more variety and value to the sessions we develop and continue to build our educational library around that which is our pillar, ACR, The NADCA Standard. We have completed the bridging process for VSMR to ASCS certified. Nonrenewed members have been terminated and removed from the “Find a Professional Directory” on the website. We’ve also initiated an International membership campaign to support NADCA’s strategic and aggressive membership growth goals. NADCA’s 25th anniversary year will be pivotal to the future direction and success of the organization. You can expect to see more of the innovation, creativity, delivery of service and transparency that you’ve come to recognize in this association. We are using the tools available to us to bring about positive change across our entire industry and we are focused on evolving our association’s business model to deliver profitable growth for our members and our organization. Here’s to a happy, healthy and profitable New Year!

• DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

THE POWER OF

Public Relations

By Caitlin Watterson, NADCA Communications Coordinator

he 2013 NADCA public relations (PR) campaign officially kicked off last January. Leading up to this, the PR team executed a small project for NADCA during October and November 2012, which helped acclimate the team to the world of HVAC systems and air duct cleaning. The goals of the 2013 PR campaign were to increase awareness of NADCA and the ACR cleaning standard and to provide members with the marketing and communication tools necessary for promoting their businesses in the local community. To accomplish these goals, the PR team created and implemented a comprehensive program that aligned with the mission and vision of NADCA’s strategic plan. It was of utmost importance that the NADCA brand pillars and key messages were appropriately and properly communicated during the execution of the plan. Measurable objectives were agreed upon with the NADCA Board of Directors during the approval process of the PR program, all of which were expected to be reached by the conclusion of the program in December 2013: •

Secure 10 media hits within trade/industry publications

•

Establish relationships with three publications

•

Increase web traffic by 10 percent

By April 30, 2013–less than halfway through the execution of the PR program–all measurable objectives had been met. DucTales • November/December 2013

As of September 2013, the NADCA PR team secured more than 70 media placements in several top industry and consumer publications, including Buildings Magazine, The RSES Journal, ACHR News and Green Builder. The NADCA PR team established relationships with five trade publications, which featured NADCA news in their publications multiple times. NADCA experienced a great PR success when the association was featured in Family Circle magazine in early November. The article, which appeared as a healthy homes quiz, included clean air stats and facts from an interview with NADCA member Richard Lantz, ASCS, reaching Family Circle’s audience of over 4.2 million readers! Obtaining media coverage was not the only component of the PR campaign for NADCA. One of the measurable objectives was to increase website traffic by 10 percent by the conclusion of 2013. After the NADCA website transitioned to Association Headquarters (AH) management, metrics and website analytics became available mid-July. Shortly after, the NADCA newsroom went live in early September. The PR team analyzed traffic to the website and saw a significant increase in visitors; there were more than 11,700 visits to the NADCA website during the month of September—a 76 percent increase compared to the previous month. The great successes NADCA experienced in 2013 are a true testament to the power of public relations. Starting with a well-thought strategy and clearly defined measurable objectives (not to mention the support of incredible volunteer leaders and staff) were key to effectively execute the campaign, and ultimately exceed expectations.

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F E A T U R E

he National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) created the Safety Awards Program to recognize companies that have sustained superior employee safety and health program results. Companies able to demonstrate excellent safety records will be honored with a Safety Award from NADCA. To submit a Safety Awards application, a company must maintain an OSHA #300A Log in accordance with record keeping requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. All companies participating in the NADCA Safety Awards Program, regardless of size, must maintain an OSHA #300A Log. For more information about OSHA #300A Log requirements, contact your regional OSHA Office, State Plan Office or visit www.osha.gov.

Awards Program Criteria •

The company must be a member of NADCA.

•

The company must provide a copy of the completed OSHA #300A Log, regardless of size.

•

Applicants must pay the $40 application fee.

•

Completed applications must be received by NADCA no later than February 1, 2014. No applications will be processed after this deadline.

Award Confirmation Determinations Confirmation of the NADCA Safety Award shall be made by the NADCA Safety Committee using standardized formulas developed by the National Safety & Health Council. The Committee will use data submitted by applicants to determine if an applicant’s record of nonfatal occupational injury and illness incidence rate is less than or equal to industry averages. For the purposes of this program, industry average shall be that of the SIC code “services to buildings.” The final number using the formula below must equal

Do the math! This is the formula used to calculate non-fatal occupational injury and illness incidence rate: Total Recordable Cases x 200,000 Employee Hours Worked Total recordable cases refer to those figures derived from the OSHA #300A Log.

Clarification of Definitions and Calculations • Employee hours are those accrued in operations and job sites. • Information provided must include office and supervisory personnel on all shifts for the company or unit involved.

• The total number of employee days for a period is the sum of the number of employees at work on each day of the period. • In calculating employee hours of exposure for employees who live on company property, only those hours during which employees were actually on duty shall be counted.

• Statistics are to include only employees on the company payroll, not those of independent contractors, guests, • For executives, traveling customers, etc. salesman, etc., whose working • Employee hours should be hours are not defined, an calculated from payroll or average of eight hours a day time clock records. When this shall be assumed in computing is not possible, they may be employee hours. estimated by multiplying the • Do not include any non-work total employee days worked for the period covered by the time, even though paid, such as vacation, sick leave, holidays, number of hours worked per etc. day. If the number of hours worked per day varies between departments, separate estimates Using the formula above, should be made for each the answer cannot be more department and the results than eight (8). added.

eight (8) or less. If the final number is more than eight (8), the company will not be eligible for a NADCA Safety Award.

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The NADCA Safety Awards are presented in recognition of a company’s safety and health program results and achievements during the previous calendar year (January 1 to December 31). All applications and accompanying required documentation will be held in confidence by NADCA. The Incidence Rate is determined by using the formula included here. The NADCA Safety Committee shall determine award status. Decisions of the committee are final.

DucTales • November/December 2013

N A D C A

S A F E T Y

A W A R D

A P P L I C A T I O N

Application Information Complete all sections below. Company Name: President or Senior Officer: Street Address: City, State, Zip: Phone:

Fax:

Yearly Average Number of Employees: Contact Person / Safety Director:

Injury and Illness Records

Complete the information below for the period spanning 1/1/2013 to 12/31/2013. 1. Average number of employees: 2. Total employee hours worked: 3. Total recordable cases: (from OSHA #300A Log, Lines G, H, I, J) 4. Total number of lost-time injury and illness cases involving days from work: (from OSHA #300A Log, Line H) 5. Total number of lost-time days: (from OSHA #300A Log, Line K) 6.

Total Recordable Cases (from Line 3 above) x 200,000 Employee Hours Worked (Line 2 above) * This number but not be more than 8

Payment Information

Application Fee: $40 q Check Enclosed

q Visa

q MasterCard

Card Number:

q American Express Exp. Date:

Cardholder Name: Signature:

Return your completed application to NADCA by February 1, 2014, at: NADCA 15000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 Fax: 856-439-0525

DucTales â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2013

Amount authorized to charge: $

Important! A photocopy of your company OSHA #300A Log must accompany this application. Applications without the OSHA #300A Log will not be accepted under any circumstances.

F E A T U R E

CHNICAL

FERENC

NADCA Continues to Explode with Record Attendance in Atlanta!

ADCA’s Fall Technical Conference continues to experience bursts of growth with increased session offerings and record attendance numbers. More than 130 technicians, suppliers and industry experts traveled to the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Atlanta for three days of technical instruction, networking and handson activities presented by industry experts and veterans. NADCA’s ASCS Training to the ACR Standard (ASCS) and Certified Ventilation Inspector (CVI) courses were offered as pre-conference events to almost sixty technicians. As a result, NADCA welcomes 40 new ASCSs and 11 new CVIs! See who they are on page 30. The Ventilation Maintenance Technician Course was presented to 25 attendees who all completed the course and took home their VMT certificate of completion. This is the first step in training and certification for the industry and NADCA hopes to bring these new industry members back for additional training and eventually ASCS certification. A new and exciting hands-on training session was presented by conference sponsor Sunbelt Rentals. Attendees first attended a classroom session designed to

…I had no idea what I was missing out on. I learned more in the three days of this conference then I had in the last five years! The instructors are successful contractors who have a passion for the industry and are willing to discuss and share the best practices and things that have made them successful. The owner of my company is going to get a great return on his investment as I am much more confident when bidding and inspecting commercial HVAC systems. Once again thanks again to NADCA for holding this annual event. –Reece V. Howell NCKS Operations Manager LAMUNYON Cleaning & Restoration DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

DucTales â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

The Fall Technical Conference is the place to be for low-cost, high level training. Putting the equipment in your technicians’ hands and giving them that practical training is key to building a path of success for your employees–a small investment that will pay big dividends.

prepare them for the hands-on portion. At the conclusion of the classroom training they walked a few short steps to the exterior of the building where Sunbelt set up four vertical lifts. Equipped with harnesses purchased at discounted pricing available only to Fall Tech registrants, attendees were able to walk through the vertical lift training and 55 of them walked away with their vertical lift training certificate from Sunbelt at no additional cost! Networking lunches provided ample opportunity for members to talk and chat about new and exciting industry products. Between sessions, products and services were on display by exhibitors including: Abatement Technologies Inc; Carlisle HVAC Products; Lloyds Systems; Meyer and Sons, Inc.; Meyer Machine & Equipment; Nikro Industries Inc.; SpeedClean; and Vac Systems International.

Thank you to our Fall Technical Conference sponsors!

The Fall Technical Conference is the place to be for lowcost, high level training. Putting the equipment in your technicians’ hands and giving them that practical training is key to building a path of success for your employees–a small investment that will pay big dividends.

Some of the highlights included CFM vs. PSI and Compressor Types, Compressor Maintenance, Air Tools and a special presentation by EPA Region 4 Indoor Air Quality Specialist, Henry H. Slack, who presented on radon and carbon monoxide. IAQA indoor air quality expert, Dr. Elliott Horner, schooled attendees on the benefits and proper use of air scrubbers. A tremendous amount of expertise and information flowed during this three day event.

William Arthur Ward said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Be inspired! Share the inspiration with your technicians and watch your profits soar.

Make the commitment to the Fall Technical Conference and mark your calendars for next September. Dates and location will be released soon so watch your inbox for details and be sure to sign up early to secure your seat at the table.

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DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

By Steve Sabato

roject estimation is a crucial element of the duct cleaning process. Whether the ducts being cleaned are in a massive office building or the home of a family of four, the parameters of the project must be clearly established before the work begins. “It’s critical,” says Tom Yacobellis, co-founder and director of operations at DUCTZ Int. “I couldn’t imagine doing a project without strict project estimating. Project estimation links directly to production schedules, if done correctly.” As critical as the project estimation is, there isn’t simply one way to do it, and methods vary by company or personal preference. Yacobellis’s organization uses a specific method that allows them to come up with an accurate projection as to how much the project will cost. However, they also tailor the estimate to the customer and follow these steps:

Take inventory Yacobellis’s organization applies a different approach to each type of unit, allowing them to come up with the most thoroughly transparent method to accounting for the cost of each specific task associated with the project. “We look at the components in three different ways,” Yacobellis says. “Some of the components, like duct work, are done by the linear footage in a computer. Some DucTales • November/December 2013

of the components like the units are done by the man hours applied to the unit. The third one is based on the internal square footage of the component.” For example, if the inside of a duct system needs to be coated, the internal square footage is calculated so that the technician can apply the product in the correct quantities.

Make it clear Not only does estimation link directly to the production schedule, but it allows the direct parameters of the operation to be set, putting both parties at ease that they’re in agreement on the job that was contracted to be done. “It creates an absolute known quantity for what you’re doing,” says Yacobellis. “Customers cannot add units to the project without knowledge of the cleaner. The clarity of the project is absolute; no ambiguity. If something is missing they have to say it before the project starts.”

Be fair One of the most common mistakes made during the process of project estimation is customer confusion about what aspects of the project are included or excluded from the cost or scope of work. A clear, accurate estimate can create fairness on the open market.

F E A T U R E “There’s a sense of accuracy that very few people can provide, and it gives them a feeling of confidence going into the bid,” says Yacobellis. “We detail the system so thoroughly that a building owner often removes the values and sends our proposal to a competitor, telling them ‘this is our exact system’ and asking them if they could match the service at the same cost.”

Follow the NADCA Standard The NADCA standard also takes into account the best interests of residential customers. Since a degree of notnecessarily-common knowledge is required to understand whether your ducts need to be cleaned, NADCA attempts to make sure no customer pays for a job he or she doesn’t need.

Help with consumer education Help customers understand estimates and HVAC cleaning services with the Evaluation Checklist available at www.nadca.com.

“Theoretically, when you do a residential job, one of the first things your workers have to do is determine whether or not the ducts need to be cleaned, even if the customers asked for it,” says Yacobellis. “That’s the NADCA standard.”

Find the method that works for you Residential and commercial projects differ in other ways as well. “Residential projects use a variety of different methodologies,” says Yacobellis. “For example, some people will price a system by the number of registers. Some people will do it by the square footage of the house. Some people will do it with the ductwork alone and have a secondary add-on for the units.” More variables exist when it comes to assessments. Most residential and smaller assessments are done for free, unlike assessments on bigger projects. “Massive projects require on-site assessments for sometimes days, and then calculating what needs to be done,” says Yacobellis. “The price can go up to $5,000 for complete assessments to find out how much duct work is there, if the blueprints are available, the type of duct work and the event. The assessment is required by NADCA standards. The assessment is the preliminary step to estimation on the commercial side.” Though there are many variables, the process of project estimation remains a crucial one to a successful undertaking for duct cleaners. Though it can be daunting, it assures the correct job is done, the customer is happy and everyone breathes clean air.

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DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

NADCA’s Vacuum Test sets the standard By Sarah Black

rom dirt and dust to bacteria and bugs, HVAC systems are affected by a seemingly endless list of ills. But one big problem remains in duct cleaning: “People don’t know a whole lot about it,” says Richard Lantz, ASCS, an indoor air quality expert with Air Duct Cleaners of Virginia who has more than 20 years in the industry. Lantz assisted in developing NADCA’s ACR standard and currently serves as the organization’s treasurer. “People will cut corners on their HVAC systems because it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind.’” So when that call comes through, a client is expecting an obvious outcome: That the ducts will be clean, even if they don’t really know what that means.

“Duct cleaners who haven’t done a vacuum test before should experiment with it first to make sure they understand how the pump works, how the cassette should be used and how to move it over the template so that the template doesn’t move,” says Lantz. Moving the template or making contact with the component’s surface will affect the test results. “The purpose of the template is to ensure that you have a good measure of airflow over the ductwork and don’t interfere with any contaminants that would be there,” says Lantz.

One tool in a duct cleaner’s arsenal is the cleanliness verification test. While duct cleaners can do a visual inspection or surface comparison–both of which are adequate for most residential jobs–a superior measure of cleanliness exists: The NADCA Vacuum Test.

“The vacuum test is a scientific, laboratory test that verifies cleanliness,” says Lantz. “You’re going to do this test when you have a need for an unchallenged verification of cleanliness, like in hospitals, operating rooms or laboratories.” Contracts may also stipulate to what standard a system must be cleaned, specifically naming the NADCA Vacuum Test.

About the vacuum test During a vacuum test, a vacuum cassette with filter media is attached to a calibrated air pump, which is passed over a template to control airflow over the component being tested. The goal is to collect and measure any remaining particulate from the component’s surface in the filter media for analysis. DucTales • November/December 2013

When to use the vacuum test

“When you have to demonstrate that the components are clean, without a doubt, the vacuum test is what you want to use,” says Lantz. In instances where a visual example of cleanliness verification isn’t available, the vacuum test becomes the documented proof that the service was completed.

F E A T U R E

Why should duct cleaners employ the NADCA vacuum test? Because offering scientifically-based proof that the job was done can separate the professionals from the scam artists. “Anytime you have an industry of professionals, you’ll find the other side of the coin,” says Lantz. Clients who require proof of cleanliness may make their choice of duct cleaning services based on the availability of such iron-clad testing and proof. “You’re not going to do it for every little job, but if someone calls and you need to prove that the ductwork is clean, having the vacuum test available could be the difference between winning or losing a job,” says Lantz. He recommends that the cost of the vacuum test be incorporated into the total job cost.

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Vacuum Test Components • Air pump • Calibration device

• Filter media • Template

NADCA Member Mentor Program New members have access to a mentor who can lend their knowledge, wisdom and experience as a seasoned professional in the industry to help you get the most out of your NADCA membership. Contact Liz Cooke at membership@nadca.com to be connected!

Expected cost of test kit: $300 – $500

DucTales • November/December 2013

M E M B E R

Q. How did you get into the duct cleaning business? I have been involved in duct cleaning and remediation since 1990, and after years of working for others I decided to start my own business in 2002. When we first started I was cleaning carpet, upholstery, air ducts, water damage and doing mold remediation work. I was doing a large amount of subcontract work, getting burned out on all the on-call shifts. After some research I discovered that my clients needed a good duct cleaning contractor. Since I always enjoyed HVAC cleaning, I eventually decided to focus solely on indoor air quality (IAQ) and HAVC cleaning.

Q. What key services do you offer your clients? We offer HVAC cleaning and restoration services, large loss cleaning, HVAC microbial remediation, HVAC smoke, soot and odor remediation, air handler cleaning and restoration, coil cleaning. We perform a large amount of insurance work, ventilation inspections, ventilation cleaning consulting and project management for other contractors as well. Commercial dryer exhaust and residential dryer vent cleaning. DucTales • November/December 2013

S P O T L I G H T

Q. What types of customers do you typically serve? We do a lot of insurance-related work for homes and businesses that suffer fire, smoke and mold losses, so we’ve worked everywhere from a 400-square-foot house to a huge mansion with 12 furnaces, and a small condo on the 20th floor of a high-rise building. We have serviced homes for St. Louis Cardinals team members, the owner of Enterprise Leasing and Anheuser Busch family members. The commercial side can involve servicing entire buildings or just air handler and coil cleaning.

Q. How aware do you think your customers are of the importance of duct cleaning before they get the job done? I believe the majority are highly aware of this much needed service. Most people contact us with a problem– they’re not getting a cleaning because they think the system needs cleaning, they’re getting a cleaning because they see visible dirt blowing out. If it looks dirty, it’s dirty. There is much more publicity on duct cleaning now, so it gets a lot of attention; usually that’s bad attention, but that drives customers to find a qualified contractor.

M E M B E R

S P O T L I G H T

Q. What makes your company unique? What makes us unique is our dedication to quality work and training. I have a fantastic group of technicians and it shows in our work and customer interactions. We also perform jobs other companies can’t touch, such as asbestos and lead contaminated HVAC systems, fire and smoke restoration and mold and fungus remediation. We are true specialists, and I approach this as a trade with skilled crews, not as just another job.

Q. How did you become aware of NADCA? I first learned about NADCA in 1993 when my employer at the time had a few guys taking the exam. I was very fortunate to have an outstanding crew leader who made sure everyone learned the NADCA standard during training. We were doing a large amount of commercial work so the standard was all we had to ensure quality.

Q. How has being a NADCA member helped your company? Being a NADCA member has opened doors for me on the commercial and very large commercial side. IAQ and industrial hygiene companies want ASCSs to oversee large or critical jobs. If you’re not an ASCS at the minimum, you may not even be invited to bid. Certification helps establish us as a serious, qualified cleaning contractor.

Q. What are some of the day-to-day challenges of working in this industry? I think the average person doesn’t appreciate how tough it is to own a small business, but we’re under-appreciated as a whole industry. One of my biggest daily challenges is telling the consumer that quality cleaning simply can’t be performed for $49.99. Low price coupon scammers give us all a bad name and make it difficult to compare an estimate from a qualified contractor to the scam artist estimate. This is a daily problem that will not go away. I also believe the average person has no idea how much training is required to become a competent HVAC cleaning technician. Duct cleaning is one thing; disassembling furnaces and air handlers is another.

Q. How would you address those issues? Consumer education is extremely important. Take time to explain the process and procedures, give the consumer the correct terminology to compare estimates and explain that a quality job takes time and proper equipment.

Q. Where do you see the industry headed over the next 10 years? I think the trend is going to be for maintenance cleaning and energy savings. In the past, maintenance was being over looked on large buildings to save money, which leads to HVAC systems not performing as designed and failing to deliver proper cooling or heating to the space. We inspect hundreds of buildings per year that have problems directly related to poor maintenance. As a result, the building’s IAQ suffers, the HVAC system is filthy or microbial contaminated and the cooling or heating coils are filthy along with the downstream duct work. Energy conservation is a big deal right now, especially since HVAC systems can be as much as 65 percent of the monthly cost of a large building’s budget. Keeping air handlers and coils clean equals direct savings. Much more information is known and available about HVAC system maintenance and its effect on IAQ and occupants, but many facility managers still won’t take action until there is a problem. On the residential side, I have already noticed a change in the consumer. They’re doing more research, finding the NADCA website and looking for members. Your online presence is extremely important. Consumers can go online and read about other people’s experience with your company. Once it’s online, that review is there selling for you 24/7, so you want to make sure your customers’ experiences are positive.

Q. What is your biggest accomplishment as a business in the industry? The biggest accomplishment was growing from a oneman show to what I have now. Several of my competitors went out of business after 2008, but we were able to survive and grow. I’m also proud of the solutions we provided to St. Louis city schools for HVAC cleaning, as well as a huge air handler refurbishment project for four 100-ton air handlers.

•

Meet the Member! Learn more about RCS Air Duct Cleaning at www.rcsstl.com 24

DucTales • November/December 2013

A S S O C I A T E

M E M B E R

S P O T L I G H T

A Q&A With Doug Groen Consulting Q: What made you get into the HVAC cleaning and restoration industry? I started my first business in 1979 cleaning chimneys part time while working full time as a union meat cutter and a volunteer firefighter. After some research, I discovered that cleaning furnaces and air ducts (now recognized as HVAC Cleaning & Restoration) was a good add-on service. In June 1980 I purchased my first Pringles Power Vacuum truck from John Sumerlin in Walla Walla, Wash., who was one of the founding fathers of NADCA.

Q: Why did you decide to start a consulting service for HVAC cleaning and restoration companies? After selling my business in 2011 and fulfilling my employment agreement in 2013, I retired and wanted to use my industry experience to help contractors who want to be successful in the commercial HVAC cleaning and restoration business. I really enjoy sharing my experiences through training and education.

Q: Who are your clients? My client base is HVAC cleaning and restoration contractors who want to increase their sales in the commercial and industrial market. Many contractors want to expand in this area but fail due to lack of experience in estimating, marketing and project management.

Q: What key services do you offer clients? A two-day, on-site consultation includes marketing, selecting the best online plan room, mechanical print reading, estimating and project management. I also work with them to be prepared with things like lines of credit and bonding. I have a software program that I developed for estimating and project management which I help set up for them. After the initial onsite consulting, I can work with them remotely to do things like reading blue prints.

Q: What challenges face the HVAC cleaning and restoration industry? Having started in this industry in 1980, very few people– including homeowners, building owners and mechanical

Meet the Member!

See Doug’s website at www.douggroenconsulting.com contractors–knew of this service, and the ones who did were not very receptive because of the poor reputation some contractors were leaving behind. Today, we have a well known and respected industry. I believe this is due to NADCA members’ dedication as well as past and present NADCA staff. We now have our own section in the construction master spec and a highly recognized standard. A continual challenge is working with industry professionals and organizations to further strengthen our services and brand names.

Q: How has your NADCA membership helped your company? My membership gives me the visibility I need to make my services available to members. Over the years, my NADCA membership has been a very valuable investment in my success. My NADCA membership goes back to when I started as a contractor, then as an equipment manufacturer and now as a consultant.

Q: How were you involved in NADCA over the years? I served on the NADCA Board from 1998 to 2011. I chaired or served on the HVAC Inspection Certification, Education, Standards, and Ethics committee, and was a NADCA trainer from 2003 to 2012.

Q: Was there one experience that you will remember the most about your time with NADCA? With out question, being accepted into the NADCA Hall of Fame in 2011.

•

DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

o you want to sell more? Sure you do. But, the question is, “What prices are you willing to pay for your long-term success?” Are you willing to give up instant gratification? Many sales people are not. Why would you even consider delaying the gratification a sale, especially if you sell on commission? For your sustained selling success, I believe it is infinitely more valuable to your selling career to put off the slippery sale today, for a lifetime customer. In our western culture, we all want it now. What is the price we pay for this hollow instant happiness? I’ll tell you, it’s the reputation salespeople have in North America. It’s right there next to crooked politicians, fallen clergy and dethroned CEOs. I have a better idea—build a relationship! In my 17 years of outside sales and 15 years of inside selling, I learned after the first couple that selling is not warfare. Rather, selling is about building relationships. The larger your base of satisfied customers, the greater your annual sales results. Notice I did not say monthly? If you only look at monthly figures, as too many sales managers and vice presidents of sales are prone to do, you are missing the point. I have worked with too many ignorant sales managers and general managers who were focused only on this DucTales • November/December 2013

week’s or this month’s sales dollars. It was because they worked for a company that was bleeding to death. If your company is healthy, the focus will be yearly and halfdecade. If your company is sick, the focus will be daily. Before I go any further, let me ask you this question: “Is your company healthy?” If not, why are you sticking around? There are plenty of healthy and prosperous businesses, why be a martyr and go down with the ship? If you are working for a healthy company, your company will place a high value on the relationships with its customer. Follow my RELATIONSHIP Model and I guarantee you will be successful in professional selling and loyal customer base. So loyal, that is, that your company will be afraid to ever let you become a victim of reengineering.

is for Relax

Relax and be authentic. This is first and foremost; trying to be someone you are not is the kiss of death in relationship building. Even if you think you can fool prospects, you are wrong. The first time maybe, but from then on, they have your number. If you decide to be the best possible you, understand that it is enough. Nobody likes a slippery snake oil salesman!

F E A T U R E

The Relationship You Build is More Important than the Pressure Close

is for Excitement

is for Look

Be excited about your product and the chance to serve your customers. Think about that monotone teacher you had in high school or college, the one that put you to sleep five minutes into the class. An unexcited salesperson is no different. Why in the world would I want to do business with somebody that does not believe in, and is not excited about his or her products or services? Let me add a caution here: if you act like a 110-volt light bulb hooked up to 220 volts two things will happen to you. First you’ll burn out in a glorious flash and secondly, you’ll be a counterfeit. Being your best includes excitement, but the excitement must be genuine.

Look your prospects and customers in the eye and thank them for the opportunity to serve. Be happy they came to see you or allowed you to visit them. Today, we live in a fast paced society, even in small town America. People do not have enough time to do all the things the want to. And you, as a salesperson, are asking them for some time, a small piece of their life. Let your prospects and customers know that you appreciate the opportunity to serve them in solving their challenges.

is for Ask

is for Talent

Ask plenty of questions that will cause discussion about your customer’s desires and expectations. I’m sure you have heard that a professional salesperson talks only 20 percent of the time and listens 80 percent, but the kind of questions that you ask what will really enable you to help them meet their product or service needs. Knowledge is power and you need lots of knowledge to help the highly sophisticated buyer of today. Do not shortchange your prospects by talking too much. If you talk too much, you will be of little value to your customers, and they will have no desire to build a relationship with you.

Use your talent to be a showman. Prove how your products will make their life better. Now this is an important key; how it will make THEIR life better, not your life. Get the focus on your prospect and use sizzle to sell the steak, not the hamburger. If you are focused only on YOUR presentation, and how great a showman you are, you will miss the point and most likely the sale. Your customers are not buying the show. Many today are in pain and do need the show to better help them understand how your product will solve THEIR problems. DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

is for Invite

Invite your customer to hold, touch, feel, ride, test, use or otherwise experience your products. Get them in the act. If they hear, they forget. If they see, they remember. If they experience, they internalize. You want your customers to internalize the value of owning what you sell, don’t you? How many people buy a car before the test drive? Not many! Put it in my hand and I am on the path to emotional ownership. If I emotionally own your product, it will be quite easy for you, the professional salesperson, to ALLOW me to buy it, don’t you think?

is for Objections

Objections are really questions. Simply answer their questions. The feel, felt, found method is usually quite effective here. Let’s review the method. When your prospect says “No,” agree with them and show your understanding. Say, “I understand how you feel. Mrs. Jones felt exactly the same way. Although, after she gave it a try, it performed better that I promised and …” Too often when your prospect is saying, “No,” they are really saying, “I need to know more.” If you understand this, you’ll do a better job of answering their questions. Now is the time when all that listening you did earlier pays off. With your knowledge of your customer’s need, you can smoke out the true roadblock to them having what they want. Then you can help them to buy. By doing so, you’ll also add another brick onto the solid long-term relationship you and your company enjoys with that customer.

Now is time to learn the three great words that will change your life. “Ask for it!” Ask them to buy that which you know they want NOW. What are you afraid of?

is for Now

Now is time to learn the three great words that will change your life. “Ask for it!” Ask them to buy that which you know they want NOW. What are you afraid of? Perhaps you are afraid that they will like you less for asking? I assure you, they will think less of you, if you do NOT ask them to buy. They will tend to say, “Yes” as not to offend you. You must sell the benefits of your product or service and not rely on the many features. Salespeople that sell features and not benefits hear a lot of “Great presentation” or “You are a great salesperson” as their prospects walk away empty handed. Never ask prospects to buy before you give them several great reasons to do what you desire.

DucTales • November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

“The bonds that unite another person to ourself exist only in our mind.” –Marcel Proust

is for Solve

Solve unresolved problems, challenges or roadblocks that are keeping your customers from having what they want. This is crucial and usually occurs after one or two trial closes. You now realize there is still some area you did not cover completely, some area you over looked. Somewhere along my sales path, I learned what is called the “doorknob close.” This is helpful when you are at the end of your helping rope, ready to fall into oblivion, the place where lost salespeople end up. Pack it all up; thank your prospect for their time and attention. As you grab the doorknob to leave, turn the knob. Stop, and turn around, still holding the knob. Ask, “Just for my information, Mr. Smith, why is it you didn’t buy today?” Listen closely—you are about to strike gold. Whatever it is that they say, respond with, “Oh my gosh, I forgot to cover that!” Now, let go of the knob and go back to your prospect and answer their last objection.

is for Help

Help them to buy it, ask again. Remember though your real goal is to build a powerful base of satisfied customers, not just make a sell today. Helping is also understanding that it’s possible your prospect may have a reason for not buying today. If you stay focused on the relationship rather than just the sell, you’ll be a long-term success rather than just another hotshot, hooked up to 220 volts, burning the brightest for a very short time.

is for Inspire

Inspire your customers to feel really good about their buying decision. When your customer begs you to allow them to buy, or simply says, “I’ll take it,” remember to guard against buyers’ remorse. Inspire them to feel really good about their decision to buy and doing business with you. Remind them, just one more time, what a good choice they made by reviewing all the ways the product or

service will make their life better. Inspire them to take full advantage of your product support and customer service programs. Make them feel so good about doing business with you that they will want to tell all their friends about you.

is for Partner

Become your customer’s partner in total product/service satisfaction (TPS or TSS). Follow up regularly. Be certain of the value and enjoyment your customers have received from doing business with you and your company. Make certain they feel really good about buying from you 30, 60 or 90 days later. Now that you truly have embarked on the path of building a long- term relationship, ask for referrals. Allow your satisfied customers to now help you in your career. Allow them to help their friends in enjoying the really good feelings they have enjoyed. Partners get real leads from their customers, not just the useless lists of names frequently given to pushy salespeople to get rid of them. In making your deposits into the “Relationship Bank,” you are guaranteed to yield healthy returns. Position yourself as a partner. Be persistent in your selling efforts. Try repeatedly to help your prospects to have all that you know they want. Have patience—I’ve learned that being number two in the minds of your prospects will pay off. Your competitor will blow it someday, as you and I have, and when they do, there you are, ready to take full advantage of the relationship you’ve built. Building relationships does payoff. Not always today, but generally sooner than you think.

•

© 2010 Ed Rigsbee Ed Rigsbee, CSP, CAE, is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering, and has over 2,000 published articles to his credit. Ed travels internationally to deliver strategic alliance keynotes and workshops. When you are tired of cold calling and are interested in no-pressure selling, Ed can be reached at ed@rigsbee.com or visit www.rigsbee.com. To access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge, visit www.rigsbee.com/ downloadaccess.htm.

DucTales • November/December 2013

Congratulations New NADCA Members New NADCA Members: AC by Florida Comfort Systems, Inc. Naples, FL

Disaster Clean Up Repair dba Servpro of Southern Butler Cranberry Township, PA

AdvantaClean of Monroe Waxhaw, NC

Duct Works LLC Nashua, NH

AdvantaClean of Virginia Beach Virginia Beach, VA

DUCTMASTERS USA, INC Davie, FL

All City Duct Cleaning Westbury, NY

Ductos y Climas Garcia, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey, N.L. Mexico

Allen & Company Environmental Services Fort Worth, TX

EnviroFresh Air Duct Cleaning, Co. Buford, GA

Airduct Klean Epsom, NH

EZ Breathe Kingsport, TN

Airwiz Washington, DC

Fresh Air Systems Tucson, AZ

Circle Technologies Carson City, NV

Greenfields Indoor Air Solutions Kentville, NS Canada

Clean Ducts Inc. dba Ductz of Redmond Redmond, WA Contingency Connection Inc. dba AdvantaClean of Somerset Hills Budd Lake, NJ

Hawaii Indoor Air Specialists, Ltd. Mililani, HI John Henry’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Lincoln, NE

K + L Advantage, Inc. dba AdvantaClean of Orange Park/ Gainesville Orange Park, FL

Steamatic of the Red River Valley

Key Air Conditioning Contractors, Inc. Santa Fe Springs, CA

Houston, TX

Lang Environmental, Inc. Tampa, FL

Richfield, MN

North Services Inc. Grand Prairie, AB Canada Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration Parkersburg, WV Pro-Duct Air Care Hicksville, NY R.S. Andrews Services, Inc. Atlanta, GA Servpro of Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Middletown, NY Stanley Steemer – Tom’s River, NJ Toms River, NJ

Fargo, ND TDIndustries

ZEROREZ

New NADCA Associate Members: Rotobrush International, LLC Grapevine, TX Tecai Innova S.L. Logroño Spain Thermaflex Abbeville, SC New NADCA Affiliate Members: Jonathan Balmos JB Construction Services Mansfiled, TX

Congratulations New ASCSs Syed Habeeb Ali Rapid Cool Trading Co. LLC Dubai United Arab Emirates

David Blankenship Lang Environmental, Inc Tampa, FL

Travis Crawley Carolina Filters, Inc. Sumter, SC

Stefen Duncan Carolina Air Care Greenville, SC

Hal Ayer DUCTZ of Greater Atlanta Marietta, GA

Paul Boisvert Contingency Connections, Inc. dba AdvantaClean of Somerset Hills Budd Lake, NJ

Joshua Crowner Fresh Air Systems Tucson, AZ

Richard Elder Duct Detectives Incorporated Orlando, FL

Jonathan Balmos JB Construction Services Mansfield, TX

Kevin Boyle Ductz of Central Orange County Irvine, CA

Giuliano Cuete Airwiz Germantown, MA

Jeremy Ellis Servpro of Montgomery County/ LBL South Clarksville, TN

Michael Bartlett Armstrong Heating & Power Vac, Inc. Manchester, NH

Michael Caraway AirDuct Klean Epsom, NH

Jeffrey Bassinger Advanta Clean Mooresville, NC

Rikki Castellano Circle Technologies Inc Carson City, NV

Jason Bastert Air Ducts Done Right Inc. Darien, IL

Brandur Coombs Clean Air Services Langley, BC Canada

John Beatty Servpro or Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Middletown, NY

Michael Coon Cary Reconstruction Co., Inc. Apex, NC

DucTales • November/December 2013

Justin Dauzat Clean Air Systems of LA, Inc. Shreveport, LA William Dean Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner Maryland Heights, MO Mark Dela Cruz Dave’s Duct Cleaning Whitby, ON Canada Robin Denyar Greenfields Indoor Air Solutions Kentville, NS Canada

Kevin Fitzek AC by Florida Comfort Systems Naples, FL Joseph Gammino EnviroFresh Air Duct Cleaning, Co. Buford, GA Rodolfo Garcia Ductos y Climas Garcia, S.A. DE Monterry, Mexico Frank Giberson Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration Parkersburg, WV

Congratulations New ASCSs (continued) Beto Giron ClearAir Ankeny, IA

Eduardo Jara National Air Quality Services Meriden, CT

Keegan Reed Clean Air Systems Polk City, IA

Glenn Gonzalez Tri-Dim Filter Corporation Lincoln Park, NJ

John Keblusek Servpro of Madison/Goodlettsville Madison, TN

Richard Rivera Key Air Conditioning Contracters Santa Fe Springs, CA

Charles Goolsby Service Master of Charleston Charleston, SC

Thomas Kitchens R.S. Andrews Services, Inc. Atlanta, GA

Thomas Robinson American Clean Air Inc. Parkersburg, WV

Olaf Gundersen North Services Inc. Grande Prairie, AB Canada

Philip Lamphear Duct Doctor Usa of Charlotte Stallings, NC

Rick Russell Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration Parkersburg, WV

Angel Lopez Duct Detectives Incorporated Orlando, FL

Carlos Sanguinetti Alliance Environmental Group San Diego, CA

Nelson Martinez AC by Florida Comfort Systems Naples, FL

Stan Santos Dave’s Duct Cleaning Whitby, ON Canada

Avery Guthrie Breathe-Easy Air Duct Cleaning Tulsa, OK Kevin Hamilton K+L Advantage , Inc. dba AdvantaClean of Orange Park/ Gainesville Orange Park, FL Jaron Hanus Hawaii Indoor Air Specialists, Ltd. Mililani, HI Richard Held All City Duct Westbury, NY Roger Herde Ductmasters Davie, FL Terry Hill Ductz of Redmond Redmond, WA Jake Hill Ductz of Redmond Redmond, WA Johnny Holland Carolina Filters, Inc. Sumter, SC Tommy Hoopsick Ductz of Richmond Southside Colonial Heights, VA Demar Howard Stanley Steemer Toms River, NJ Randall Ison DUCTZ of SE Miami Valley (SEMPRO, LLC) Springfield, OH

Ron McFall Air Duct Cleaners of Virginia Chesapeake, VA Thomas Minnock Disaster Clean Up Repair dba Servpro of Southern Butler County Cranberry Township, PA Collin Montague AdvantaClean of Virginia Beach Virginia Beach, VA Harley Moore Interior Maintenance Company, Inc. Lansdowne, PA Aran Naraidoo Duct Detectives Incorporated Orlando, FL Shane Norman Ductz of Redmond Redmond, WA Randy Palmer Nikro Industries, Inc. Villa Park, IL Mark Pfiffner Brouwer Brother Services Alsip, IL Nick Quaranti Duct Detectives Incorporated Orlando, FL Darryl Quick Air Duct Cleaners of Virginia Chesapeake, VA

New CVIs: Gary Barber Indoor Air Quality Services Metairie, LA Greg Bianchi Tech Clean Industries Ronkonkoma, NY Kevin Boyle Ductz of Central Orange County Irvine, CA Brent Burdette Oliver Heating & Cooling Morton, PA Michael Colino Coit Services of South Jersey - New Jersey Somerdale, NJ Daniel Dufour Le Group Air Plus Inc. Quebec, QC Canada

Seth Schoverling EZ Breathe Kingsport, TN Mike Smith Air Duct Cleaners of Virginia Chesapeake, VA Shane Stoll Servpro of Roanoke, Montgomery & Pulaski Cos. Salem, VA Ryan Stutzman John Henry’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Lincoln, NE Doug Theriault Stanley Steemer - Fort Myers, FL Fort Myers, FL Chris Urbanski Kleen-Flo Duct Cleaning Niagara Falls, ON

Maxim Gagne Le Group Air Plus Inc. Quebec, QC Canada Reece Howell Lamunyon Cleaning & Restoration Clay Center, KS Bill LaPann AmeriClean South Glens Falls, NY Keith McKinney AmeriClean South Glens Falls, NY Jean Pelletier Le Group Air Plus Inc. Quebec, QC Canada John Pollard Oliver Heating & Cooling Morton, PA

Nicholas Vitelle Stanley Steemer Toms River, NJ Kenneth Wentz Ductz of Hanover, Camp Hill & Spring Grove, PA Bill White Coit Services of South Jersey - New Jersey Somerdale, NJ

Chuck Riesebeck AdvantaClean Environmental Garner, NC Tony Terry Servpro of Roanoke, Montgomery & Pulaski Cos. Salem, VA

DucTales • November/December 2013

C O M M I T T E E

S P O T L I G H T

Industry & Public Relations Committee The Industry & Public Relations Committee, led by CoChairs Bill Benito and Richard Lantz, oversees NADCA’s marketing and public relations campaigns, along with efforts to foster industry relations. The committee has recently completed several successful marketing campaigns to promote NADCA, its member companies and the ACR Standard to end-users in the residential, public and commercial marketplaces. The ACR Standard marketing campaign was initiated to increase awareness and use of the standard to promote quality cleaning and ultimately increase business for NADCA member companies. Initiated in March 2013, the campaign included press releases, banner ads on the ASHRAE and the ACHR news websites and an online ACR Standard launch page where free downloads of the standard were available worldwide and in multiple languages. Between March and September, the standard was downloaded more than 2,125 times in 73 different countries, and the ACR Standard press releases were picked up by the following industry publications with a combined circulation of over 545,685 readers: •

ACHR News

•

Distribution Center Magazine

•

Facilities Net

• SNIPS •

HVAC Web Connection

•

HPAC Magazine

•

Managing Automation

NADCA continues to follow up with leads generated from the ACR Standard downloads to promote the importance of using the standard and engaging NADCA members to perform HVAC cleaning services. In addition to marketing the ACR Standard, the committee has engaged in several other initiatives, including a series of press releases on the value of using a NADCA certified professional, the NADCA Energy Study, NADCA’s white papers and other consumertargeted messages. NADCA also has an online newsroom at www.nadca.com where the media can make requests and find quick links to NADCA press releases and other important updates. Most recently, NADCA scored a big win when Committee Co-Chair Richard Lantz was asked to participate in a Q&A interview with Family Circle Magazine for an article about healthy homes. The article appeared in the November 2013 issue of the magazine, which was distributed to more than 4 million consumers.

•

Annual Meeting Committee NADCA’s Annual Meeting Committee wants you to know that registration is open for NADCA’s 25th Annual Meeting & Exposition, being held March 3-6, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas. Under the leadership of Co-Chairs Michael Vinick and Matt Mongiello, the committee has put together a stellar program that will include both a business track and an industry education track. The business track will include sessions related to selling, asset protection, employee law, prevailing wage and more. The industry education track will offer sessions on cleanliness verification, residential building performance, kitchen exhaust, the Soot Standard and more. And, of course, you won’t want to miss the exhibit hall featuring vendors with the newest and latest products on display.

•

DucTales • November/December 2013

Register now! To register for the Annual Meeting & Exposition, visit www.nadca.com and click “2014 Annual Meeting.” We hope you’ll join us in celebrating 25 years of excellence within the HVAC inspection, maintenance and restoration industry!

N A D C A

C O M M I T T E E

Annual Meeting Co-Chairs: Matt Mongiello Michael Vinick

Tommy Gwaltney Peter Haugen Rick MacDonald Jimmy Meyer MJ Palazzolo Keith Reynolds Terri Reynolds Meg Walker Cindy White

Sub-committee: Safety Program Review and Update Chair: Dan Stradford Sub-committee: Regional Technical Advisory Committee (RTAC) Chair: Rick MacDonald Mike Dexter Mike White Richard Lantz Kehau Mendes Mike McDavid Bill Tyrell

By-Laws Policies Procedures Chair:

Dan Stradford Richard Lantz Pierre Laurin Ronald Nichols

Ethics Committee Chair:

Dan Stradford Bill Benito Brad Kuhlmann Richard Lantz Pierre Laurin Greg Long Rick MacDonald Mike McDavid Vito Moscato Todd St. Ores Tom Yacobellis

Sub-committee: CVI Job Analysis Chair: Bill Benito

Education & Safety Committee Co-Chairs: Mike White Rick MacDonald

Bill Benito Tommy Gwaltney Richard Lantz Kehau Mendes Ronald Nichols Robert Rizen Dan Stradford Bill Tyrell

Sub-committee: Training Programs Chair: Richard Lantz Sub-committee: White Paper Task Force Chair: Dan Stradford

Richard Lantz Pierre Laurin Ron Nichols Dan Stradford

Finance Committee

Certification Committee Chair:

A S S I G N M E N T S

Chair:

Michael Vinick Bill Benito Richard Lantz John Line Al Sutton April Yungen

Industry & Public Relations Committee Co-Chairs: Bill Benito Richard Lantz

Jim Castellano Chad Cowan Peter Haugen Clayton Ivany Matt Mongiello Chris Wilson Stephan Worall

Sub-committee: Energy Research Study Task Force Chair: Mike White Bill Benito Sub-committee: EPA Website update Task Force Chair: Rick MacDonald Sub-committee: Editorial Committee Chair: Bill Benito Richard Lantz Sub-committee: Social Media Chair: Richard Lantz Bill Benito

International Affairs Chair:

Matt Mongiello Carlos Gonzalez-Boothby Peter Haugen Pierre Laurin Rick MacDonald Travis Tassey

Regional Coordinators United States Northwest - Vito Moscato, Bill Tyrell Southwest - Matt Kelly, Kehau Mendes Northeast - Rick MacDonald Southeast - Tommy Gwaltney, Perry Bagley Canada Region 9 - Gary Lapstra Region 9.5 Quebec - Pierre Laurin Oceania-Australia Region 11 - Jeremy Stamkos Italy Region 12 - Chair: Giorgio Ziragachi, Past President of AIISA; Andrea Casa, President of AIISA China Region 15 - Robert Nicholson Central & South America Relations Chair: Carlos Gonzalez-Boothby Richard Lantz

Membership Chair:

Michael Vinick Nelson Constanza James Cooke Peter Haugen Matt Mongiello MJ Palazzolo Kevin Uilkie Mark Zarzaczny

Leadership Development Committee Chair:

Bill Benito

ACR Standards Committee Chair:

Bill Lundquist Bill Benito Brad Kuhlmann Richard Lantz Greg Long Rick MacDonald

DucTales â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2013

F E A T U R E

By Mike Palazzolo, Founder of Safety King Incorporated The following is the second in a series of articles on the tools that my company, Safety King Incorporated, uses to make us the Midwest’s largest and Michigan’s most experienced and effective air duct cleaning company. This installment is focused on the value of blogging. Future installments will focus on how to create easily remembered toll-free phone numbers, and how to build a robust electronic client list.

the list of links on search engines such as Google and Bing when people use those sites in search of companies.

If you’ve been thinking about using a blog on your website to brand your business, here are a few considerations for you to explore.

If you maintain your own website, you will need to decide on a software package to support your blog and go through the process of downloading it and then installing it on the server that hosts your website. Sometimes the hosting company has a single link to make that happen. Once you have installed the blog on your web server, you’ll probably need to modify the links and menus on your other website pages so it is easy for your site visitors to find, view and comment on your blog posts.

A blog is a kind of website that is periodically updated with new content. It’s not an article. It’s not a static web page like the other pages on your site. It’s a log of web pages: a “weB LOG,” hence the name, blog. Anyone can blog, including businesses. Many companies have done so by including a blog page on their website, which they update with new content regularly. Blogging is one of the fastest and best ways to get your website near the top of

If you don’t maintain your own website, you’ll need to pay your supplier to set up a blog for you and to make the needed modifications on your other website pages. You can even find paid providers who will write and publish relevant blog posts on your blog for you. Of course, you can’t expect these providers to have the same familiarity with your business that you have, so your blog posts may not be quite as good as they would be if you

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F E A T U R E wrote them yourself. On the other hand, outsourcing the work guarantees your blog will be updated regularly by a professional, preventing an unnecessary drain on your time and energy. Assuming you write your own blog posts, there are seven things you should keep in mind to make your posts effective and get noticed by search engines:

1. Decide on “keywords” to use, which should be

included generously in the titles and copy of your posts. Of course, the keywords you choose will differ depending on your business and locale. For instance, if your business is commercial air duct cleaning and you are located in Seattle, you might have a list of key words that would include “air duct cleaning,” “commercial duct cleaning” or “duct cleaning in Seattle.” Research the keywords to avoid choosing the same keywords as your competitors, making it harder to get noticed by the search engines and rise in the rankings in order to make it to the first page of links presented to users when they search. Find out which keywords are in common use is to use the Google Keyword Tool. Search for the Google Keyword Tool on Google to find links to the tool. Once there, type in any keyword or phrase and the tool will tell you how many searches globally and locally are now being made for those keywords. It will also give you related keywords you can consider using, some of which may present only medium or even low competition.

Google can also help you identify which websites are succeeding in the use of keywords by typing in the word ‘allintitle:” in the search box followed by a space and then the keyword or phrase. Google will then return a list of links showing the websites and images that have the highest incidence of keywords showing up in the titles of pages and images. One warning -- all the search engines punish artificial loading of sites, posts and images with keywords. They have designed algorithms to detect irrational use of keywords, so make sure the words you use are completely natural and logical to your business or you’ll actually reduce your ranking with the search engines.

2. Create concise, relevant copy, include images and

regularly update your blog so it remains relevant to your readers. A good rule of thumb is to make each blog post at least 300 words. Assume your readers want to know the details of your business practices or products and feel free to describe them in detail. Post new entries once or twice a week to retain readers.

According to www.toptenreviews.com, the top five blogging packages are: 1. Wordpress 2. Typepad 3. SquareSpace 4. LiveJournal 5. Blogger

Incorporating images is beneficial as well to make your posts visually appealing. Remember to include captions on the images that incorporate at least one of your keywords.

3. Link to relevant information elsewhere on your

website, or in a post you published in the past, or even to external websites and blogs, as long as the connection is valid and logical. This is important because search engines give a higher rating to posts when links in them are real and valid. You can also include a list of links to blogs you’d like your readers to view through the use of a blog roll, which will direct your readers to blogs on related subject matter without sending them to your competitors. This will enhance your search engine rankings as well.

4. Tagging is another important element of a successful blog that will optimize your search engine rankings. Tagging involves assigning descriptive terms to the post that are related to the content. For instance, in a post about dryer duct cleaning, you might assign tags like “dryer duct,” “dryer vent,” “fire” or “fire prevention.”

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F E A T U R E

Check out Safety King’s blog At Safety King, we have a well-established blog that has increased our search engine presence and brought us a great deal of business we may not have received without it. Taking a look at our blog might give you some ideas on setting up your own blog. Check it out at www.safetyking.com/blog/.

5. Reread the post to see how many times your

keywords have been used. It’s important to make sure your keyword use is natural and logical, not forced. After reviewing your copy, it’s advisable to add ONE additional keyword somewhere in the post, in as natural a place as you can, just to give the search engines one additional attribute to find. Don’t forget, if you overdo this, your rankings actually drop, so add only one keyword per post after writing the post in natural and unforced language.

6. Give careful consideration to permitting comments

to your posts. Permitting your readers to comment on your posts can be a benefit or a curse. Reader comments may mean greater interest in your posts, more loyal readers and better search engine rankings. However, many comments may turn out to be made by people just trying to hijack your blog and get their links to appear under your posts. Allowing comments forces you to spend time moderating all comments and approving only the ones that seem genuine and real. If you elect not to moderate comments, the value of your blog can drop dramatically, allowing it to become a page you share with unwanted people and businesses and irrelevant remarks. Some bloggers avoid this problem by not permitting comments at all. The downside to that choice is that you won’t get the rankings bump that can come from a large number of comments.

Get to know Safety King Safety King is the largest air duct cleaner in the Midwest and offers Licensed Affiliate status to companies in the US and in all English-speaking parts of the world. Its founder, Mike Palazzolo, is a founding member and former president of NADCA and now leads MSP Sales, Inc., a marketing company offering custom business phone numbers as well as services industry marketing consulting. For information, call 1-888-4-MICHAEL.

7. Proof your posts for spelling and grammar before

you publish. If you write the posts yourself and your skills with proofreading, spelling and grammar are not stellar, you should probably get someone else in your company to proof them before you publish. If you’ve delegated the writing to someone else, consider proofing them yourself, if for no other reason than to keep your finger on the pulse of the blog and make sure it is emphasizing the messages you are trying to communicate. Branding, which is what business blogging is ultimately about, is and must be the job of the business owner no matter who writes the posts.

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CALENDAR I N D U S T R Y

C A L E N D A R

To include your event, please contact NADCA Headquarters at 1-855-GO-NADCA, or email publications@nadca.com. For additional information and current calendar of events, please visit www.nadca.com.

NADCA Events

NADCA’s 25th Annual Meeting & Exposition March 3-6, 2014 San Antonio

Related Industry Events

IAQA 17th Annual Meeting March 17-19, 2014 Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center Nashville, Tenn.

ACCA March 17-20, 2014 Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center Nashville, Tenn.

Restoration Industry Association Convention & Industry Expo April 9-11, 2014 Orlando World Center Marriott Orlando, Fla.

IKECA Annual Conference April 23-26, 2014 Las Vegas ASHRAE 2014 Winter Conference January 18-22, 2014 New York, NY

DucTales • November/December 2013